{"id":158328,"date":"2025-03-10T19:31:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T14:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=158328"},"modified":"2025-03-10T19:31:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T14:01:41","slug":"seagrass-conservation","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/seagrass-conservation","title":{"rendered":"Seagrass Conservation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A recent study published in \u2018<\/span><b><i>Nature Reviews Earth &#038; Environment\u2019<\/i><\/b><b> (Feb 28, 2025)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> highlights the rapid decline of seagrass meadows due to human activities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Key Highlights<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seagrass is disappearing at a <\/span><b>rate of 1-2% per year<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with nearly <\/span><b>5% of species endangered.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Urgent conservation measures are needed to safeguard marine biodiversity and combat climate change.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Seagrass<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seagrass meadows are <\/span><b>underwater plants<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that play a crucial role in marine ecosystems.\u00a0 They are better than trees for capturing carbon and providing food for millions of people.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Significance<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Capture carbon up to <\/span><b>35 times faster than tropical rainforests<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide habitat for<\/span><b> 121 threatened species<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and nearly <\/span><b>750 fish species.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support fisheries, contributing to <\/span><b>20% of global fishery landings<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Protect coastlines from storms and erosion.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Distribution<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Found in <\/span><b>shallow coastal waters across the world.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India hosts <\/span><b>16 seagrass species<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, mainly in:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Andaman &#038; Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Islands and Gulf of Kutch.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>India\u2019s seagrass cover:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 516.59 sq km, absorbing 434.9 tonnes of CO\u2082 per sq km per year.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Threats<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pollution <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">from industries, cities, and agriculture.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Coastal development &#038; tourism<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> degrading fragile habitats.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Weak enforcement <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of coastal protection laws.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Loss of biodiversity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014studies in Tamil Nadu\u2019s Manora coast show 54% of the surveyed seafloor lacks seagrass cover.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Conservation Efforts<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Restoration projects worldwide: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2,000+ initiatives, with 23.9% of known seagrass areas protected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Successful projects:<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Virginia, USA:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 1,700 hectares of <\/span><b><i>Zostera marina<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> restored.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>India (2011-2020):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 14 acres of seagrass restored in Gulf of Mannar &#038; Palk Bay (85-90% success rate).<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><b>Palk Bay:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Community-based restoration using bamboo frames &#038; coconut rope.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Call to Action<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stronger conservation policies with strict enforcement.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inclusion of seagrass in national marine conservation plans.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collaboration between scientists, policymakers, conservationists, and local communities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Focus on restoration alongside protection to ensure long-term sustainability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.8986%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%;\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #000000;\"><b>Seaweeds<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seaweeds are a form of<\/span><b> macroscopic algae,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a primitive type of plant<\/span><b>.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Habitat:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They\u00a0 grow\u00a0 in the marine and shallow coastal waters or brackish water habitats and on rocky shores.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Types: \u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seaweeds are recognized into<\/span><b> Four groups <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0according to their pigments that absorb light of particular wavelengths.<\/span><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are<\/span><b> Chlorophyta (green algae), Phaeophyta (brown algae) and Rhodophyta (red algae) and Blue algae.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400; color: #000000;\">India possesses around 434 species of Red Algae, 194 species of Brown Algae, and 216 species of Green Algae.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<span class=\"vc_button\"><b>Additional Reading:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/seaweed-cultivation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Seaweed Cultivation in India: Status, Importance and Challenges<\/b><\/a><\/span>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6375%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 111.19%; text-align: center;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Also Read<\/b><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 49.797%; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/editorial-analysis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>UPSC Daily Editorials<\/b><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 61.393%; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/daily-current-affairs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>UPSC Daily Current Affairs<\/b><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 49.797%; 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text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/store.pw.live\/govt-entrance-exams\/upsc-books\/upsc-modules?utm_source=SEO&#038;utm_medium=PW+Live&#038;utm_campaign=UPSC+Modules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Check Out UPSC Modules From PW Store<\/b><\/a><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent study published in \u2018Nature Reviews Earth &#038; Environment\u2019 (Feb 28, 2025) highlights the rapid decline of seagrass meadows due to human activities. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":158302,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"paper-wise":[2089],"subject":[4642],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/158328"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/current-affairs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158328"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/158328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158334,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/158328\/revisions\/158334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158328"},{"taxonomy":"paper-wise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper-wise?post=158328"},{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=158328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}